Abstract

A special reflecting Schmidt telescope is used to observe celestial objects. The telescope has an aperture of 4 m, f ratio of 5, and a 5° field of view. Its optical axis is fixed and tilted 25° to the horizontal that runs from south to north. The celestial objects were observed for 1.5 h as they passed through the meridian. The shape of the reflecting Schmidt plate has to be changed with each different declination δ and in the tracking process. This is achieved with active optics. The sky area to be observed is −10° ≤ δ ≤ +90°. There are plans to place ~4000 optical fibers on the telescope focal surface that will lead to a dozen spectrographs.

References

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